| Level 19: | 15,000/30,000/30,000 |
| Entries: | 30/414 |
| Prizes: | €372,600 |
The dust has settled on Day 2 of the 2026 Novibet Greek Poker Odyssea €1,000 Main Event, and after six 60-minute levels of play, a field of 111 players has been reduced to the final 30, who will return at 2 p.m. local time on June 18 for the penultimate day at the Regency Casino, Thessaloniki.
They are led by Bulgarian Dimitar Toshev (5,370,000), who holds a healthy lead over start of day chip leader Lulei Hu of Italy (3,180,000), primarily gained from being the beneficiary of a brutal cooler versus fellow big stack David Kozma towards the end of play.
Toshev’s compatriot Borislav Yosifov (2,970,000) completes the podium places, and plenty of other high-quality players remain in the mix, including Greek duo, 2019 WSOPE Mini Main Event champion Vangelis Kaimakamis (920,000), and Fotios Ntamaris (1,275,000).
Toshev boasts a career-best score of $68,420, and will be hoping to better that in the coming days by claiming the chunky first-place prize of €78,920, representing the majority of the €372,600 prize pool, a record for a Novibet event in Greece.
Hu has been in fine form this year, racking up two final tables in PokerStars Open events, increasing his career earnings to almost $1.6 million.
Yosifov is also no slouch at the poker tables, having secured cashes totaling almost $350,000 since his first entry in 2013, with a career-best score of $30,874 (All figures courtesy of The Hendon Mob).
End of Day 2 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Position | Name | Country | Chip Count | Blinds |
| 1 |  Dimitar Toshev | Bulgaria | 5,370,000 | 179 |
| 2 |  Lulei Hu | Italy | 3,180,000 | 106 |
| 3 | Borislav Yosifov | Bulgaria | 2,970,000 | 99 |
| 4 |  Dimitris Zournatzidis | Greece | 2,150,000 | 71 |
| 5 | Manolis Livanos | Greece | 1,830,000 | 61 |
| 6 | Venelin Pashev | Bulgaria | 1,815,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Ivan Popov | Bulgaria | 1,805,000 | 60 |
| 8 | Panagiotis Arkeles | Greece | 1,730,000 | 57 |
| 9 | Manolis Asgoudakis | Greece | 1,535,000 | 51 |
| 10 | Traianos-Alexandros Ntavoutis | Greece | 1,440,000 | 48 |
Day 2 Recap
A total of 111 players returned for Day 2, with 53 places to be paid, and the knockouts came thick and fast, as players such as Rob McAdam, Leonidas Georgopoulos and Konstantinos Kertikidis suffered early exits.
Toshev also suffered some early misfortune when he ran queens into aces, and Hu still held the lead at the first break.
Halfway through the second session, the bubble arose, and Panagiotis Arkeles seemed certain to be the unfortunate player to leave empty-handed, when he ran kings into Hu’s aces. However, Arkeles went runner-runner for the flush, and erupted after the river hit, unleashing an almighty roar of celebration.
Yosifov burst the bubble when he turned a flush against Georgios Zisimopoulos, and players such as Lorenzo Arduini, Martin Tsvetanov and Dimitrios Sarris all left with a minimum cash of €1,900.
The cooler between Toshev and Kozma then transpired, leaving Toshev on cruise control until the end of play, while Artemios Fournaris and Georgios Tsialtas were among the final casualties of the day.
The 30 players remaining have secured a €2,460 payday, with a final table spot set to boost bankrolls by €7,155, but all combatants will surely be dreaming of the €78,920 first-place prize tonight.
The players will return at 2 p.m. on June 18 for the penultimate day, to blinds of 20,000/40,000/40,000, and 75-minute levels, with play set to continue until the final table is reached.
poker.pro will be on the floor from the start of play, ensuring not a moment of the action is missed, so stay tuned as we see who can move into pole position for a tilt at the 2026 Novibet Greek Poker Odyssea Main Event title.
